Published 6:41 am, Thursday, July 8, 2010

Covenant Hospital Plainview patients are waiting on whether contract negotiations with an insurance company will have them paying higher bills or, possibly, seeking care elsewhere.

According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, thousands of Covenant patients in Plainview, Lubbock and Levelland could be affected.

United Healthcare wrote in letters to Covenant patients that unless the parties reach a contract agreement by July 23, Covenant Health System no longer will be part of its network.

On Wednesday, Covenant officials told the A-J they expect to reach an agreement with the insurance provider and patients should not look for new doctors at this time.

"We are still in negotiations and we are very hopeful we will be able to resolve this without any issues," said Lindy Lauderdale, vice president for managed care at Covenant.

Covenant has been in the United Healthcare network since 1998, said Kim Whitaker, a regional spokeswoman for the company. United Healthcare serves about 10,000 people in the Lubbock area, she added.

Lauderdale said Covenant and United Healthcare have not renegotiated their contract terms - including amounts an insurance company will pay providers and the types of services covered - for four years. That's about a year longer than average, Whitaker noted.

Lauderdale told the A-J that should the parties not reach an agreement, Covenant Hospital in Plainview and Levelland; Lubbock's Covenant Medical Center, Covenant Women's and Children's, and Covenant Medical Center Lakeside; and physicians in Covenant Medical Group will become more expensive out-of-network providers for non-emergency services.

The letters sent by United Healthcare tell patients if Covenant becomes an out-of-network provider they might consider switching to other local, in-network alternatives, such as University Medical Center and Texas Tech Physicians, according to the A-J.

"We are pleased to provide our customers with access to UMC Health System and the wide range of services it provides," the letter reads.

Contract negotiations began several months ago and when an agreement wasn't reached by mid-June, United Healthcare sent letters to customers who have been treated by the Covenant system. Health insurance companies are required to give customers 30 days' notice of the potential termination of a provider relationship, Whitaker said.

But Covenant officials said Wednesday it's not unusual for discussions to continue up until the contract expires.

"This is very typical. We don't want to lose those patients, so we are working to resolve it all," Lauderdale said. "We will continue to engage in good-faith discussions with Covenant Health in the hope of reaching a mutual agreement."

(Contact Kevin Lewis at 806-296-1353 or kwlewis@hearstnp.com. Become his fan on Facebook.)